BSP issues rules for relaxed KYC requirement

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has set the conditions and guidelines relative to the relaxed know your customer (KYC) requirement.

In a statement, the central bank said that the damages brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas resulted not only in many deaths and widespread destruction to pieces of property, but also loss of personal belongings such as official identification documents.

The BSP said that official identification documents were needed withdraw people’s bank deposits or investments, accept remittances from relatives and other sources, or open an account and avail of products and services offered by various financial institutions.

“Therefore, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, through the Monetary Board, approved to temporarily waive the presentation of official identification documents [Ids] in processing transactions of victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda,” it stated.

The BSP said that the effectivity of relaxed implementation of KYC requirement, particularly the mandatory presentation of official ID, is until December 31, 2013, and applicable to all BSP-covered institutions.

However, the amount of transactions is limited to only P50,000 and below a day, given that customers must be either permanent or temporary residents or who conduct business in the severely affected areas of Samar provinces, Leyte, Cebu, Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Palawan.

The BSP also said that clients should also issue a written certification (without need for notarization) that they are victims of the super typhoon and have lost their official ID.

“Customer’s account activities should be subject to strict monitoring by financial institution personnel to identify potential abuse of the relaxed requirement and any suspicious transactions shall be reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council within the prescribed period,” it added.

Lastly, the central bank said that customer identification documents will be required and updated after the effectivity of the relaxed implementation of KYC requirement.